Print by Liz Myhill

Argyll Hope Spot Exhibition

Snorkelling Artist Residency

Opening Night on the 7th of March at 7pm!

Dates: Saturday 8th March until 21st April
Times: Open daily 10am-4pm
Place: Silver Birch Gallery, The Rockfield Centre
Age: All ages
Cost: Free

Art exhibition Launch - Refreshments Available

The Argyll Coast and Islands Hope Spot is a community-led celebration of this part of Scotland’s world-class natural riches. It is the first Hope Spot in mainland UK. Hope Spots are special places, vital for the ocean’s health, linked by the international organisation Mission Blue. This growing global network also includes the Galapagos Islands and Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Collectively, Hope Spots are creating a global wave of community support for ocean conservation that policymakers cannot ignore.

The Argyll Coast & Islands Hope Spot stretches from Ardnamurchan to Loch Sween. It includes four Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), Special Areas of Conservation, National Scenic Areas and National Nature Reserves.

A total of 37 artists and communicators have participated as residents or tutors across 5 residencies to date. Their work ranges hugley in medium and feeling. Drawings, paintings, sculpture, sound works and animations make spasce for a wider range of people to feel deeper connection to life underwater in the seas of Argyll and beyond.

The exhibition will show work from both local and international artists, asking (and answering) the question, what happens after the residency?

There will be a particular focus on work that relates to the idea fo artists and change-makers. All work will be marine related.

Argyll Hope Spot

The first in mainland UK, Argyll Coasts & Islands Hope Spot is an organisation shedding light on the immense beauty, rich history & vibrant life of the Argyll coast & islands. 

What is special about this area? In Scotland, Argyll’s biodiversity is second only to St Kilda, with a range of habitats from sheltered sea lochs fringed by ancient oakwoods, rocky peninsulas, narrows and islands, to the world’s second-largest whirlpool; the Gulf of Corryvreckan. The coastal environment supports an impressive range of birds and mammals and the breath-taking scenery in four National Scenic Areas on land is surpassed underwater, where the seabed plunges to 200m just offshore. 

The Hope Spot encompasses Marine Protected Areas, Special Areas for Conservation and a host of Priority Marine Features, which show how precious and diverse our sea life is.  

From kelp forests to maerl beds, seagrass to soft corals and rocky reefs, there are habitats suited to so many species. Above the waves you can find birds including eagles, guillemots, razorbills, puffins, kittiwakes, gannets, gulls, shags and terns. You might glimpse basking sharks, seals, porpoises and otters as they break the surface. Diving down you will come across salmon, sea trout and, coasting at depths of 100-200m, the critically endangered flapper skate. This is one of the largest fish in Scottish waters, reaching nearly 3m in length and over 100 kg in weight. They may live for a century. When you reach the seabed you will find reefs built by serpulid worms, beautiful northern feather stars, flame shells and native oysters. 

The Hope Spot contains much of cultural significance too, and many people have their homes and make their living here. Its combination of economic, cultural and environmental value demonstrates the vital connection between coastal communities and their local waters. 

The Hope Spot is a community-led initiative. Its designation is a celebration and recognition of the natural riches of this part of Scotland’s coast. For generations, these have sustained the coastal communities scattered across this beautiful and diverse landscape.